JP7484531B2 - Air conditioning control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioning control device for use in vehicles such as automobiles.

For example, in a vehicle left under the hot sun, the temperature inside the vehicle cabin can become higher than the outside temperature. A known technique is to pre-condition the vehicle cabin before the user gets in by scavenging (introducing outside air) and then cooling the vehicle after scavenging is complete. For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the temperature difference between the air temperature inside the vehicle and the temperature outside the vehicle exceeds a predetermined threshold, the blower fan is started and outside air is introduced into the vehicle to lower the air temperature inside the vehicle. Then, when the temperature difference between the air temperature inside the vehicle and the temperature outside the vehicle falls below a predetermined threshold, the compressor is started. This makes it possible to improve the comfort inside the vehicle when it is stationary while reducing the power consumption of the compressor.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-48167

However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, the compressor is not started until the temperature difference between the air inside the vehicle cabin and the outside air falls below a predetermined threshold. Therefore, if the user gets in the vehicle before the compressor is started, there is a risk that the user's comfort will not be ensured.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide an air conditioning control device that can properly perform pre-air conditioning in a vehicle and thereby ensure the comfort of the user.

The following describes the means for solving the above problems and their effects.

Means 1 is
An air conditioning control device that is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage that circulates a refrigerant, an electric compressor that compresses the refrigerant, an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant, and a blower fan that blows air into a vehicle compartment, and that is capable of blowing cool air cooled by the evaporator into the vehicle compartment by driving the blower fan, and that performs scavenging of the vehicle compartment as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle compartment is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
Equipped with.

In this method, when the interior of the vehicle is left unattended and reaches a specified high temperature, the blower fan is driven to scavenge the interior of the vehicle in response to a pre-air conditioning request. In this case, the interior of the vehicle is scavenged before the compressor is driven, so the thermal load can be reduced before the compressor starts to drive, and power consumption can be reduced. However, if a user gets into the vehicle while the interior of the vehicle is being scavenged, the blown air (hot air) from the blower fan may be blown toward the user, causing discomfort to the user.

In this regard, while scavenging is being performed, it is determined whether or not a user has entered the vehicle, and when it is determined that a user has entered the vehicle, scavenging is performed with the blower fan limiting the amount of air blown into the vehicle cabin to a reduced amount compared to before it was determined that a user has entered the vehicle, and the compressor is started to operate to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle cabin. In this case, scavenging is performed with the blower fan limiting the amount of air blown, so that the user's discomfort can be alleviated while continuously reducing the thermal load caused by scavenging. In addition, by starting cooling and air conditioning with the air blowing limited, it is possible to quickly transition to the desired cooling completion state while alleviating the user's discomfort. As a result, pre-air conditioning in the vehicle can be performed appropriately, and the user's comfort can be ensured.

In the second embodiment, in the first embodiment, a cold air generation determination unit is provided that determines the state of cold air generation by the evaporator when the boarding determination unit determines that someone has boarded the vehicle, and the second control unit releases the restriction on the air blowing by the blower fan or reduces the degree of the restriction based on the state of cold air generation determined by the cold air generation determination unit.

If a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, it is possible that the evaporator will not be able to generate enough cold air even if air conditioning is started at that point, and it is therefore desirable to limit the blower fan's airflow. However, after the compressor starts to operate, the temperature near the evaporator will gradually drop, resulting in cold air being generated. In this case, by lifting the restriction on the blower fan's airflow or reducing the degree of restriction based on the state of cold air generation in the evaporator, it is possible to blow cold air at the user at the appropriate time while keeping track of the state of the air conditioning system.

In the third embodiment, in the second embodiment, when the entry determination unit determines that a person has entered the vehicle, the second control unit controls at least one of the direction and position of the air blown into the vehicle cabin by the blower fan based on the state of cool air generation determined by the cool air generation determination unit.

When a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, at least one of the direction and position of the air blown by the blower fan in the vehicle cabin is controlled depending on the state of cool air generation by the evaporator. In this case, when the evaporator is not generating enough cool air, at least one of the direction and position of the air blown in the vehicle cabin is controlled to prevent the air from being blown toward the user, thereby reducing the discomfort of the user. In addition, after the evaporator is generating enough cool air, the air is controlled to be blown toward the user, so that cool air can be blown toward the user at the appropriate time.

In the fourth aspect, in the second or third aspect, a window opening/closing control unit is provided that controls the opening and closing of the vehicle window, and the window opening/closing control unit opens the window when the boarding determination unit determines that a person has boarded, and then closes the window based on the state of cold air generation determined by the cold air generation determination unit.

When a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, the vehicle window is opened or closed depending on the state of cold air being generated by the evaporator. In this case, when the evaporator is not generating enough cold air, the window can be opened to complete scavenging as quickly as possible. After the evaporator is generating enough cold air, the window can be closed to create a cool environment inside the vehicle.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the boarding determination unit determines the boarding position of the user in the vehicle, and the second control unit restricts the blower fan from blowing air at the boarding position determined by the boarding determination unit.

By identifying the user's entry position in the vehicle and restricting the blower fan's airflow at that entry position, it is possible to reduce the thermal load by continuing scavenging after the user enters the vehicle, and to reduce the user's discomfort.

In a sixth embodiment of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth embodiments, the boarding determination unit determines that a pre-boarding action has been performed before the user boards the vehicle as a determination that the user has boarded the vehicle, and the second control unit, when it is determined that the pre-boarding action has been performed, temporarily increases the air volume of the blower fan, and thereafter limits the airflow of the blower fan by setting the air volume of the blower fan to a lower state than before the pre-boarding action was determined.

In a configuration in which it is determined that a user has performed a pre-boarding action before getting into the vehicle as a determination that the user has boarded the vehicle, the determination is made before the user actually gets into the vehicle. For example, the pre-boarding action can be determined by unlocking or opening the vehicle door. In this case, there is a time lag between the user performing the pre-boarding action and actually getting into the vehicle, and during the period consisting of this time lag, even if the air blown by the blower fan is hot air, it is considered unlikely to be blown onto the user.

Therefore, when it is determined that a pre-boarding operation has been performed, the blower fan's air volume is temporarily increased, and then the blower fan's airflow is restricted to a lower volume than before the pre-boarding operation was determined. This makes it possible to complete scavenging as quickly as possible while reducing discomfort to the user.

In a seventh aspect of any one of the first to sixth aspects, the air conditioning system includes a condenser that condenses the refrigerant and a heat dissipation fan that cools the condenser, and the entry determination unit determines, as a user entry determination for the vehicle, whether a pre-entry action has been performed before the user enters the vehicle and whether the user has subsequently entered the vehicle cabin, and the second control unit starts driving the heat dissipation fan and starts driving the compressor with drive restriction at the time when the pre-entry action is determined, and releases the drive restriction on the compressor at the time when it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle cabin.

When a user gets into a vehicle, the user performs pre-boarding actions such as unlocking and opening the vehicle door, and then the user actually gets into the vehicle (sits in the seat). Based on this premise, when the pre-boarding action is determined, the heat dissipation fan is started to be driven and the compressor is started to be driven in a drive-restricted state, and when it is determined that the user has gotten into the vehicle cabin, the compressor drive restriction is released. In other words, when the pre-boarding action is performed, the condenser is cooled by driving the heat dissipation fan, and the blower fan and compressor are in a drive-restricted state to start cooling and air conditioning in a weak state, and when the user actually gets into the vehicle, the cooling and air conditioning is increased from the weak state. This makes it possible to quickly prepare a cooling environment in the vehicle cabin. In addition, when it takes a long time for the user to actually get into the vehicle after performing the pre-boarding action, or when the user does not get into the vehicle after performing the pre-boarding action, unnecessary cooling and air conditioning can be suppressed.

In the eighth aspect of any one of the first to sixth aspects, the air conditioning system includes a condenser that condenses the refrigerant and a heat dissipation fan that cools the condenser, and the entry determination unit determines whether a user has entered the vehicle by determining whether a pre-entry action has been performed before the user has entered the vehicle and whether the user has subsequently entered the vehicle cabin, and the second control unit starts driving the heat dissipation fan when the pre-entry action is determined, and starts driving the compressor when it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle cabin.

In the above configuration, preparations for starting cooling and air conditioning are made when the pre-boarding action is performed, and cooling and air conditioning is started when the user actually gets in. This makes it possible to quickly create a cooling environment in the vehicle cabin. Also, in cases where it takes a long time for the user to actually get in after performing the pre-boarding action, or in cases where the user does not get in the vehicle after performing the pre-boarding action, unnecessary cooling and air conditioning can be prevented.

Overall configuration diagram of the air conditioning system. 5 is a flowchart showing an air conditioning control process when pre-air conditioning is performed according to the first embodiment. 4 is a time chart showing an operating state when pre-air conditioning according to the first embodiment is performed. 4 is a time chart showing an operating state when pre-air conditioning according to the first embodiment is performed. 10 is a flowchart showing an air conditioning control process when pre-air conditioning according to a second embodiment is performed. 13 is a time chart showing an operating state when pre-air conditioning according to the second embodiment is performed; 10 is a flowchart showing an air conditioning control process when pre-air conditioning is performed according to another embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an air conditioning control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an air conditioning system for an electrically powered vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle will be embodied. First, the overall configuration of the air conditioning system will be described with reference to FIG.

The air conditioning system of the embodiment includes an air conditioner 10 as a controlled object and an air conditioner ECU 50 as an air conditioning control device. The air conditioner 10 is disposed, for example, at the front of the vehicle interior, and is configured such that a blower fan 12, an evaporator 21, etc. are housed within a casing 11.

The casing 11 has an air passage 13 for air (conditioned air) to be blown into the vehicle cabin. At the most upstream part of the casing 11, an outside air intake 14a for introducing air from outside the vehicle and an inside air intake 14b for introducing air from inside the vehicle are formed.

A blower fan 12 is disposed in the casing 11 downstream of the outside air intake 14a and the inside air intake 14b. The blower fan 12 is an electric blower driven by an electric motor, and in this embodiment, the amount of air blown can be adjusted by the motor rotation speed. The blower fan 12 generates an air flow, which introduces outside air (outside air) from the outside air intake 14a and introduces inside air (inside air) from the inside air intake 14b. An intake door 15 driven by a servo motor or the like is provided inside these intakes. By driving the intake door 15, one of these intakes is opened, and either the outside air or the inside air is introduced into the casing 11.

In the casing 11, an evaporator 21 is disposed downstream of the blower fan 12. The evaporator 21 is connected to a compressor 22 and a condenser 23 via a refrigerant passage 25, and together with the compressor 22, the condenser 23, etc., forms a refrigeration cycle.

The compressor 22 is a variable displacement compressor that is driven by an electric motor and can variably set the refrigerant discharge capacity while it is in operation. It draws in and compresses the refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle and discharges it toward the condenser 23.

The condenser 23 is located at the front of the vehicle so that it is exposed to the wind while the vehicle is running, and a heat dissipation fan 41 is provided nearby. The condenser 23 cools and liquefies the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 22, and is cooled by the wind while the vehicle is running or by the cooling wind generated by the operation of the heat dissipation fan 41. The refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 23 is separated into gas and liquid by a receiver (not shown). The separated liquid refrigerant is then rapidly expanded by the expansion valve 24 to become mist, and is then supplied to the evaporator 21.

In the evaporator 21, heat is exchanged between the atomized refrigerant supplied from the expansion valve 24 and the conditioned air that is sent out by the blower fan 12 and flows through the air passage 13. During this process, the conditioned air that flows through the air passage 13 is cooled as the refrigerant evaporates. The cooled conditioned air is then sent out into the vehicle cabin through a number of air outlets 16 provided in the vehicle cabin, thereby cooling the interior of the vehicle cabin.

The air conditioner ECU 50 is mainly composed of a microcomputer including a known CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. The air conditioner ECU 50 receives output signals from an evaporator outlet temperature sensor 31 that detects the temperature of the air that has been heat exchanged in the evaporator 21 (evaporator outlet temperature), an interior temperature sensor 32 that detects the temperature inside the vehicle cabin, an outside air temperature sensor 33 that detects the outside air temperature equal to the temperature of the air before heat exchange in the evaporator 21 (evaporator inlet temperature), a seating sensor 35 that detects whether the user is seated in a seat (not shown), a door sensor 36 that detects whether the vehicle door (not shown) is unlocked or opened, etc. In response to these inputs, the air conditioner ECU 50 executes various control programs stored in the ROM to operate various devices such as the blower fan 12 and the compressor 22, and to control the cooling of the vehicle cabin, etc.

In this embodiment, the air conditioner ECU 50 can switch between the scavenging mode and the internal air circulation mode. When the scavenging mode is on, the outside air intake 14a is open and the blower fan 12 is driven to introduce outside air into the vehicle cabin.

The air conditioning system of this embodiment also enables the implementation of a pre-air conditioning operation in which the air conditioner 10 is operated before the user gets into an abandoned vehicle, i.e., in a vehicle in which no user is in the vehicle and the ignition power is off. This allows the user to make the temperature in the vehicle cabin comfortable before getting into the vehicle. For example, when a user operates a mobile terminal (not shown) before getting into the vehicle to send a pre-air conditioning request signal, the air conditioner ECU 50 receives the signal from the mobile terminal and causes the air conditioner 10 to execute a pre-air conditioning operation. In this case, as pre-air conditioning, the air conditioner ECU 50 deactivates the compressor 22 and drives the blower fan 12 to scavenge the vehicle cabin (introduce outside air) based on the fact that the temperature in the vehicle cabin is high relative to the outside air temperature, and when the temperature in the vehicle cabin has dropped to the outside air temperature, it activates the compressor 22 to complete the scavenging and perform cooling and air conditioning.

However, if a user gets into the vehicle earlier than expected while scavenging is being performed during pre-air conditioning, there is a concern that the air (hot air) blown out by the blower fan 12 may be blown toward the user, causing discomfort to the user.

In this embodiment, the air conditioner ECU 50 is configured to include a first control unit that drives the blower fan 12 to scavenge the vehicle interior in response to a pre-air conditioning request when the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state, an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while the first control unit is scavenging, and a second control unit that, when the entry determination unit determines that a user has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging while limiting the blower fan 12 to blow less air into the vehicle interior than before it was determined that a user has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor 22 to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle interior. Specific details are described below.

The air conditioning control process executed by the air conditioner ECU 50 during pre-air conditioning will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 2.

In this series of processes, first, in step S11, it is determined whether or not a pre-air conditioning request signal is being sent via a mobile terminal or the like. If step S11 is negative, the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if step S11 is positive, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S24, the scavenging mode is turned off, and the compressor 22 and blower fan 12 are kept in a non-operated state. Then, this process is terminated.

In step S12, a temperature difference ΔT is calculated by subtracting the outside air temperature from the temperature inside the vehicle cabin based on the detection results of the interior temperature sensor 32 and the outside air temperature sensor 33. Then, in step S13, it is determined whether the interior of the vehicle cabin is in a predetermined high temperature state. Specifically, it is determined whether the temperature difference ΔT is greater than a predetermined threshold value Th1 (e.g., 0°C), and if the temperature difference ΔT is greater than the threshold value Th1, it is determined that the interior of the vehicle cabin is in a predetermined high temperature state. In this case, if step S13 is negative, the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if step S13 is positive, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S23, the scavenging mode is turned off and the compressor 22 and blower fan 12 are driven. That is, if it is determined that the temperature inside the vehicle cabin is not at a predetermined high temperature, the compressor 22 is driven and the blower fan 12 circulates the air inside the vehicle cabin to cool the vehicle cabin using air conditioning.

In addition, in step S14, the scavenging mode is turned on and the blower fan 12 is driven to perform scavenging. In this case, the compressor 22 is left in a non-driven state. In other words, when the temperature inside the vehicle cabin is at a predetermined high temperature, the compressor 22 is not driven and the hot air inside the vehicle cabin is first expelled by scavenging.

After that, in step S15, it is determined whether or not a user has entered the vehicle. Specifically, for example, based on the detection result of the seating sensor 35, it is determined whether or not a user has entered the vehicle. If step S15 is negative, the process returns to step S12 and each process is repeated. On the other hand, if step S15 is positive, the process proceeds to step S16. In other words, the compressor 22 is not driven and hot air is expelled from the vehicle cabin by scavenging until either the user has entered the vehicle or the interior of the vehicle is no longer at a predetermined high temperature is met. Note that the determination of whether or not a user has entered the vehicle may be made based on the detection of the door sensor 36.

In step S16, the user's boarding position in the vehicle is determined based on the detection result of the seating sensor 35, that is, which seat the user is seated in. Then, in step S17, the direction in which the conditioned air is blown into the vehicle cabin is controlled. More specifically, based on the result of determining the user's boarding position in the vehicle, the direction in which the conditioned air is blown is set so that the conditioned air does not directly hit the user. For example, if the user is in the right seat of the left and right seats in the front of the vehicle, it is recommended that air be blown toward the left seat.

The direction in which the conditioned air is blown out may be controlled to be toward the floor, ceiling, or side door, regardless of the user's boarding position, i.e., away from the seat.

In addition, in step S17, instead of or in addition to controlling the blowing direction of the conditioned air inside the vehicle cabin, the blowing position of the conditioned air inside the vehicle cabin may be controlled. In this case, among the multiple air outlets 16 provided in the vehicle cabin, the air outlet 16 that blows air toward the seat where the user is seated is stopped from blowing air, and the other air outlets 16 are allowed to blow air. This limits the blowing of air by the blower fan 12 inside the vehicle cabin. For example, if the user sits in the right seat of the left and right seats at the front of the vehicle, it is recommended that air be blown only from the left seat side.

After that, in step S18, the compressor 22 is driven while the scavenging mode remains on. At this time, the blower fan 12 is set to a driving state (weak driving state) with a smaller air volume than the normal driving state before it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle cabin. In other words, when it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle cabin during scavenging, the compressor 22 is driven to start generating cool air, and the blower fan 12 is set to a weak driving state to blow less air than before the user entered the vehicle cabin.

In step S19, the state of cold air generation by the evaporator 21 is determined. Here, it is determined that cold air has been generated if the evaporator outlet temperature detected by the evaporator outlet temperature sensor 31 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature Th2. If step S19 is negative, the process returns to step S16 and repeats the process until it is determined that cold air has been generated. If step S19 is positive, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S20, the direction in which the conditioned air is blown into the vehicle cabin is changed so that the conditioned air blows toward the user. That is, the direction in which the conditioned air is blown is switched from a direction in which the conditioned air does not blow toward the user to a direction in which the conditioned air blows toward the user. Alternatively, the blowing position of the conditioned air in the vehicle cabin (air outlet 16 that blows air) is changed to a position in which the conditioned air blows toward the user (air outlet 16).

In step S21, the compressor 22 and the blower fan 12 are driven while the scavenging mode remains on. At this time, the weak drive state (airflow restriction) of the blower fan 12 is released and the blower fan 12 is returned to a normal drive state. Note that instead of releasing the airflow restriction of the blower fan 12, the degree of airflow restriction may be reduced.

In step S22, similar to step S13, it is determined whether the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state based on the temperature difference ΔT. If step S22 is positive, the process returns to step S20 and repeats the process until the interior of the vehicle is no longer in the predetermined high temperature state. On the other hand, if step S22 is negative, the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, the scavenging mode is turned off and switched to internal air circulation. At this time, the compressor 22 and blower fan 12 continue to be driven. In other words, after the interior of the vehicle has been sufficiently cooled and is no longer at the specified high temperature, the compressor 22 is driven in the internal air circulation state to cool the interior of the vehicle. In step S23, air conditioning control is performed so that the temperature inside the vehicle is maintained at a preset pre-air conditioning set temperature (e.g., 25°C).

Here, the operating state of the air conditioner 10 when pre-air conditioning is performed will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Note that it is not assumed here that the user will get into the vehicle while the pre-air conditioning scavenging is being performed.

As shown in the figure, pre-air conditioning starts at time t11 when a pre-air conditioning request is detected. Here, the scavenging mode is switched to the on state, the blower fan 12 starts to be driven, and the hot air inside the vehicle cabin starts to be expelled by scavenging. However, the compressor 22 remains in a non-driven state. As a result of this scavenging, the temperature inside the vehicle cabin gradually drops.

At time t12 when the temperature inside the vehicle cabin and the outside air temperature become the same, that is, when the temperature inside the vehicle cabin drops to a temperature at which it is determined that the temperature is not at a predetermined high temperature, the scavenging mode is switched to the off state and the inside air circulation by the blower fan 12 starts. In addition, the compressor 22 starts to generate cold air, and the evaporator outlet temperature gradually drops. After time t12, cooling air conditioning starts.

After time t12, air conditioning control is performed so that the vehicle interior temperature is maintained at the pre-air conditioning set temperature. At this time, the operation of the blower fan 12 and the compressor 22 is controlled based on the deviation between the vehicle interior temperature and the pre-air conditioning set temperature.

Incidentally, pre-air conditioning ends at time t14 when the vehicle's ignition power is turned on.

Next, the operating state of the air conditioner 10 when a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning scavenging is being performed will be explained based on the time chart in Figure 4. Below, differences from Figure 3 will be explained.

In FIG. 4, after the pre-air conditioning scavenging is started at time t21, when it is determined at time t22 that a user has entered the vehicle, the compressor 22 starts to drive and cold air generation starts. This gradually reduces the evaporator outlet temperature. Also, at time t22, the blower fan 12 is driven at low speed to limit its drive. Although not shown, the blowing direction of the conditioned air in the vehicle cabin is also controlled at the same time, and the blowing direction is controlled so that the conditioned air does not directly blow on the user. At this point, the conditioned air is not sufficiently cooled, and there is a concern that hot air will be blown on the user, but the blowing of hot air on the user is suppressed by limiting the drive of the blower fan 12 and controlling the blowing direction.

After that, when the evaporator outlet temperature drops to a predetermined temperature Th2 at time t23, the drive restriction on the blower fan 12 is lifted. That is, at time t22 when the user gets in, the evaporator outlet temperature is almost the outside air temperature, and the evaporator 21 is not generating enough cold air, but at time t23, the evaporator outlet temperature drops to temperature Th2, and the evaporator 21 is generating enough cold air. Therefore, at time t23, the air volume of the blower fan 12 is returned to the air volume before the restriction. In addition, although not shown, the restriction on the blowing direction of the air conditioning air is also lifted. As a result, the air conditioning air is blown to the user at the appropriate timing when the generation of cold air is completed.

After that, at time t24, when the temperature inside the vehicle cabin and the outside air temperature become the same and it is determined that the temperature inside the vehicle cabin is not at a predetermined high temperature, the scavenging mode is switched to the off state and the inside air circulation by the blower fan 12 is started. After time t24, the air conditioning control is performed so that the temperature inside the vehicle cabin is maintained at the pre-air conditioning set temperature. At this time, the operation of the blower fan 12 and the compressor 22 are each controlled based on the deviation between the temperature inside the vehicle cabin and the pre-air conditioning set temperature.

The first embodiment described above provides the following advantages:

When the interior of the vehicle is left parked and reaches a certain high temperature, the blower fan 12 is driven to scavenge the interior of the vehicle in response to a pre-air conditioning request. In this case, the interior of the vehicle is scavenged before the compressor 22 is driven, so the thermal load can be reduced before the compressor 22 starts to operate, thereby reducing power consumption.

If a user gets into the vehicle while the cabin is being scavenged, the blown air (hot air) from the blower fan 12 may be blown toward the user, causing discomfort to the user. In this regard, the vehicle is judged to have a user in the vehicle while scavenging is being performed, and when it is judged that the user has gotten in, scavenging is performed with the blower fan 12 blowing air into the cabin at a reduced rate compared to before the judgment that the user has gotten in, and the compressor 22 is started to be driven to start cooling and air conditioning in the cabin. In this case, scavenging is performed with the blower fan 12 blowing air restricted, so that the user's discomfort can be reduced while the thermal load caused by scavenging is continuously reduced. In addition, by starting cooling and air conditioning with the blowing restricted, the user's discomfort can be reduced while the desired cooling completion state can be quickly achieved. As a result, pre-air conditioning in the vehicle can be performed appropriately, and the user's comfort can be ensured.

The user's entry position in the vehicle is identified, and the blower fan 12 is set to restrict airflow at that entry position, which reduces the thermal load by continuing scavenging after the user enters the vehicle and reduces the user's discomfort.

If a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, it is possible that the evaporator 21 will not be able to generate enough cold air even if cooling and air conditioning is started at that point, and it is therefore desirable to limit the blowing of air by the blower fan 12. However, after the compressor 22 starts to operate, the temperature near the evaporator 21 will gradually drop, resulting in the generation of cold air. In this case, the restriction on the blowing of air by the blower fan 12 can be lifted or the degree of restriction can be reduced based on the state of cold air generation in the evaporator 21, allowing the state of the air conditioning system to be understood while blowing cold air to the user at the appropriate time.

When a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, at least one of the direction and position of the air blown by the blower fan 12 in the vehicle cabin is controlled according to the state of cold air generation by the evaporator 21. In this case, when the evaporator 21 is not generating enough cold air, the blowing of air toward the user is suppressed, thereby reducing the discomfort of the user. In addition, after the evaporator 21 is generating enough cold air, the blowing of air toward the user is controlled, thereby allowing the blowing of cold air toward the user at the appropriate timing.

Second Embodiment
The overall configuration of the air conditioning system according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In the second embodiment, the determination of whether or not a user has entered the vehicle during scavenging is made in two stages: a pre-entry action before the user enters the vehicle, and the user then enters the vehicle cabin. When the pre-entry action is determined, the operation of the heat dissipation fan 41 is started, and the operation of the compressor 22 is started in a drive-restricted state, and when it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle cabin, the drive restriction on the compressor 22 is released.

The pre-entry action is the unlocking or opening of the vehicle door, and is determined based on the detection result of the door sensor 36. On the other hand, the fact that the user has entered the vehicle cabin is determined based on the detection result of the seating sensor 35, and at this time, the entry position of the user in the vehicle, i.e., which seat the user is seated in, is also determined.

The air conditioning control process during pre-air conditioning in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 5. The same processes as those in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions will be omitted.

After the pre-air conditioning scavenging has started (after step S14 has been performed), in step S31, it is determined whether or not a pre-entry operation has been performed before entering the vehicle, based on the detection result of the door sensor 36. If step S31 is negative, the process returns to step S12 and each process is repeated. In other words, the air conditioning device 10 does not start generating cool air, and the scavenging of the vehicle interior is performed until either a pre-entry operation has been performed or the interior of the vehicle is no longer at a predetermined high temperature is met. On the other hand, if step S31 is positive, the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, the compressor 22 is driven in a weak drive state while the scavenging mode remains on. Also, the blower fan 12 is driven in a strong drive state, i.e., a drive state with a larger air volume than the normal drive state before it is determined that the pre-entry operation has been performed. This promotes scavenging.

After that, in step S33, the heat dissipation fan 41 starts to be driven, and the cooling air from the heat dissipation fan 41 cools the condenser 23. Cooling the condenser 23 improves the air conditioning efficiency, reducing the load on the compressor 22 and thus reducing power consumption. The heat dissipation fan 41 may also function as a radiator fan that cools the radiator (not shown).

In step S34, it is determined whether or not the user has entered the vehicle cabin based on the detection result of the seating sensor 35. If step S34 is negative, the process proceeds to step S35. On the other hand, if step S34 is positive, the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S35, after it is determined that a pre-boarding action has been performed, it is determined whether or not the pre-boarding action has been canceled. At this time, if the unlocked state of the vehicle door is returned to the locked state without seating detection, or if the open vehicle door is closed, step S35 is positive. If the determination in step S35 is negative, the process returns to step S32 and each process is repeated. On the other hand, if the determination in step S35 is positive, the process returns to step S14 and the compressor 22 is returned to a non-operated state and the blower fan 12 is returned to a normal operating state. It is also advisable to stop the operation of the heat dissipation fan 41. Then, each process described above is repeated.

In step S16, the same process as in the first embodiment is executed. That is, when it is determined that the user has entered the vehicle interior, it is also determined which seat the user is seated in. Then, from step S16 onwards, the same control process as in the first embodiment is executed. In this case, particularly in step S18, the blower fan 12 is switched from the high drive state to the low drive state, and the drive restriction on the compressor 22 is released and the compressor 22 is driven normally.

The operating state of the air conditioner 10 when pre-air conditioning is performed in the second embodiment will be described based on the time chart in FIG. 6. Below, the differences from the first embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 6, after pre-air conditioning scavenging is started at time t31, it is determined that a pre-boarding operation has been performed by unlocking or opening the vehicle door at time t32. This causes the blower fan 12 to switch from a normal drive state to a strong drive state, promoting scavenging. If the door is open at this time, scavenging is performed efficiently through the open door part. Also, at time t32, the compressor 22 starts to be driven, but the drive state at this time is set to a weak drive state.

After that, when it is determined at time t33 that the user has entered the vehicle cabin by sitting on the seat, the suppression of driving of the compressor 22 is released. In addition, the blower fan 12 is switched from a high drive state to a low drive state, and the blowing of hot air to the user is suppressed. Note that the control processing from t34 to t36 other than the above is the same as the control processing from t23 to t25 in the first embodiment.

There is a time lag between when the user performs the pre-boarding action and when the user actually gets into the vehicle, and during that time lag, even if the air blown by the blower fan 12 is hot air, it is unlikely to be blown onto the user. Therefore, when it is determined that the pre-boarding action has been performed, the volume of the blower fan 12 is temporarily increased, and thereafter, the volume of the blower fan 12 is set to a lower volume than before the pre-boarding action was determined, as a restriction on the blowing of air by the blower fan 12. This makes it possible to complete scavenging as quickly as possible while reducing discomfort to the user.

It is expected that there will be a period of time when the vehicle door is open between the user's pre-boarding action and the user actually getting into the vehicle. Therefore, the air volume of the blower fan 12 is increased when the vehicle door is open. This allows hot air to be expelled from the vehicle cabin more efficiently.

It is assumed that after the user performs the pre-boarding action, it may take a long time before the user actually gets into the vehicle, or the user may perform the pre-boarding action but not actually get into the vehicle. Therefore, the compressor 22 is driven in a weak drive state from the time the user performs the pre-boarding action until the user actually gets into the vehicle. Then, when the user actually gets into the vehicle cabin, the drive restriction on the compressor 22 is released. This makes it possible to prevent unnecessary cooling and air conditioning.

In addition, if the pre-entry action is terminated without the user getting into the vehicle after it has been performed, the drive state of the compressor 22 and the blower fan 12 is returned to the state before the pre-entry action was performed. This configuration makes it possible to further reduce unnecessary cooling and air conditioning.

Third Embodiment
The overall configuration of the air conditioning system according to the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. As in the second embodiment, the third embodiment determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle during scavenging by determining whether or not the user has performed a pre-entry action before entering the vehicle, and whether or not the user has entered the vehicle cabin after the pre-entry action. In particular, in this embodiment, the operation of the heat dissipation fan 41 is started when the pre-entry action is determined, and the operation of the compressor 22 is started when the user has entered the vehicle cabin.

The air conditioning control process during pre-air conditioning in the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 7. The same processes as those in FIG. 5 of the second embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions will be omitted.

After the pre-air conditioning scavenging has started (after step S14 has been performed), if it is determined in step S31 that the pre-entry operation has been performed, scavenging is performed in step S41 with the blower fan 12 in a high drive state and the compressor 22 in a non-drive state. In the following step S33, the heat dissipation fan 41 is started to be driven.

Then, when it is determined in step S34 that the user has entered the vehicle cabin, the air conditioning air blowing control for the vehicle cabin is executed in steps S16 and S17, and then the vehicle windows are opened in step S42. In this state, the compressor 22 is driven and the blower fan 12 is driven at low speed in step S18.

If it is determined in step S19 that the generation of cool air is complete, the air conditioning air blowing control is executed in step S20, and then the vehicle windows are closed in step S43. The subsequent processes from step S21 onwards are as described above.

When a user gets into the vehicle while pre-air conditioning is in progress, the vehicle windows are opened or closed depending on the state of cold air generation. In this case, when cold air generation is insufficient, the windows can be opened to complete scavenging as quickly as possible. After sufficient cold air is generated, the windows can be closed to create a cooling environment inside the vehicle.

In addition, when the pre-boarding action is performed, preparations for starting cooling air conditioning are made by starting the heat dissipation fan 41, and when the user actually gets in, cooling air conditioning is started by starting the compressor 22. This makes it possible to quickly prepare a cooling environment in the vehicle cabin. Also, in cases where it takes a long time for the user to actually get in after performing the pre-boarding action, or in cases where the user does not get in the vehicle after performing the pre-boarding action, unnecessary cooling air conditioning can be prevented.

Other Embodiments
The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be implemented as follows, for example.

- In order to determine the user's entry position in the vehicle, in addition to the detection by the seat sensor 35, it is possible to use, for example, the door sensor 36. Alternatively, it is also possible to determine the entry position using images captured by a camera installed in the vehicle. Furthermore, it may be possible to use images captured by the camera to determine that the user has performed a pre-entry action or that the user has entered the vehicle cabin.

- In the second embodiment, the drive state of the blower fan 12 is set to a strong drive state when it is determined that a pre-boarding action has been performed, and then switched to a weak drive state when it is determined that the user has boarded the vehicle, but this configuration may be changed. For example, after the blower fan 12 is set to a strong drive state in response to the determination that a pre-boarding action has been performed, the compressor 22 may be switched to a weak drive state when a predetermined time has elapsed since it was determined that a pre-boarding action has been performed. In this case, the predetermined time may be set to the expected time required from the time the user performs the pre-boarding action until actually completing boarding the vehicle. In short, it is sufficient that when it is determined that a pre-boarding action has been performed, the air volume of the blower fan 12 is temporarily increased, and then the air volume of the blower fan 12 is set to a lower state than before the pre-boarding action was determined.

- If it is determined that a user has entered the vehicle while pre-air conditioning scavenging is in progress, instead of switching the blower fan 12 to a low drive state, the position from which the air is blown within the vehicle cabin may be reduced based on the position at which the user has entered.

- In the above embodiment, when it is determined that a user has entered the vehicle while pre-air conditioning scavenging is being performed, the state of cold air generation by the evaporator 21 is determined based on the evaporator outlet temperature detected by the evaporator outlet temperature sensor 31. However, this may be modified. For example, the state of cold air generation by the evaporator 21 may be determined based on the elapsed time from when the compressor 22 starts to operate, which is associated with the determination that a user has entered the vehicle.

The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by combining a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. In addition, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer.

12...blower fan, 21...evaporator, 22...compressor, 25...refrigerant passage, 50...air conditioner ECU.

Claims (8)

An air conditioning control device (50) is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage (25) for circulating a refrigerant, an electric compressor (22) for compressing the refrigerant, an evaporator (21) for evaporating the refrigerant, and a blower fan (12) for blowing air into a vehicle cabin, and in which cool air cooled by the evaporator can be blown out into the vehicle cabin by driving the blower fan, and performs scavenging of the vehicle cabin as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle cabin is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
a cool air generation determination unit that determines a state of cool air generation by the evaporator when the vehicle-entry determination unit determines that a vehicle has entered the vehicle;
Equipped with
The second control unit is an air conditioning control device that releases restriction on air blowing by the blower fan or reduces the degree of restriction based on the state of cool air generation determined by the cool air generation determination unit . 2. The air conditioning control device according to claim 1, wherein when the entry determination unit determines that a person has entered the vehicle, the second control unit controls at least one of the direction and position at which the blower fan blows air into the vehicle cabin based on the state of cold air generation determined by the cold air generation determination unit. A window opening/closing control unit that controls opening and closing of a vehicle window is provided,
3. The air conditioning control device according to claim 1, wherein the window opening/closing control unit opens the window when the boarding determination unit determines that a person has boarded, and then closes the window based on the state of cold air generation determined by the cold air generation determination unit. The getting-in determination unit determines a getting-in position of a user in a vehicle,
The air conditioning control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the second control unit restricts the blower fan from blowing air at the entry position determined by the entry determination unit. An air conditioning control device (50) is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage (25) for circulating a refrigerant, an electric compressor (22) for compressing the refrigerant, an evaporator (21) for evaporating the refrigerant, and a blower fan (12) for blowing air into a vehicle cabin, and in which cool air cooled by the evaporator can be blown out into the vehicle cabin by driving the blower fan, and performs scavenging of the vehicle cabin as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle cabin is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
Equipped with
The getting-in determination unit determines a getting-in position of a user in a vehicle,
The second control unit is an air conditioning control device that limits the air blowing by the blower fan at the getting-in position determined by the getting-in determination unit . An air conditioning control device (50) is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage (25) for circulating a refrigerant, an electric compressor (22) for compressing the refrigerant, an evaporator (21) for evaporating the refrigerant, and a blower fan (12) for blowing air into a vehicle cabin, and in which cool air cooled by the evaporator can be blown out into the vehicle cabin by driving the blower fan, and performs scavenging of the vehicle cabin as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle cabin is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
Equipped with
The getting-in determination unit determines, as the getting-in determination of the user into the vehicle, that a pre-getting action has been performed before the user gets into the vehicle,
The second control unit, when it is determined that the pre-entry action has been performed, temporarily increases the air volume of the blower fan, and then limits the air blowing by the blower fan by setting the air volume of the blower fan to a lower state than before the pre-entry action was determined . An air conditioning control device (50) that is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage (25) for circulating a refrigerant, an electric compressor (22) for compressing the refrigerant, an evaporator (21) for evaporating the refrigerant, a blower fan (12) for blowing air into a vehicle cabin, a condenser (23) for condensing the refrigerant, and a heat dissipation fan (41) for cooling the condenser, and that is capable of blowing cool air cooled by the evaporator into the vehicle cabin by driving the blower fan, and that performs scavenging of the vehicle cabin as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle cabin is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
Equipped with
the entry determination unit determines, as the entry determination of the user into the vehicle, whether a pre-entry action has been performed before the user enters the vehicle and whether the user has entered the vehicle interior thereafter;
The second control unit is an air conditioning control device that starts driving the heat dissipation fan when the pre-entry action is determined, and starts driving the compressor in a drive restricted state, and releases the drive restriction on the compressor when it is determined that a user has entered the vehicle cabin . An air conditioning control device (50) that is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning system including a refrigerant passage (25) for circulating a refrigerant, an electric compressor (22) for compressing the refrigerant, an evaporator (21) for evaporating the refrigerant, a blower fan (12) for blowing air into a vehicle cabin, a condenser (23) for condensing the refrigerant, and a heat dissipation fan (41) for cooling the condenser, and that is capable of blowing cool air cooled by the evaporator into the vehicle cabin by driving the blower fan, and that performs scavenging of the vehicle cabin as pre-air conditioning before a user gets into the vehicle and cooling air conditioning after the scavenging is completed when the vehicle cabin is left unattended and the interior of the vehicle is in a predetermined high temperature state,
a first control unit that drives the blower fan in response to a pre-air conditioning request in the vehicle in a high temperature state to scavenge air from within the vehicle cabin;
an entry determination unit that determines whether or not a user has entered the vehicle while scavenging is being performed by the first control unit;
a second control unit that, when it is determined by the vehicle-entry determination unit that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, performs scavenging in a state in which the blower fan is limited to blow air into the vehicle compartment to a reduced amount compared to before the determination that a vehicle has entered the vehicle, and starts driving the compressor to start cooling and air conditioning the vehicle compartment;
Equipped with
the entry determination unit determines, as the entry determination of the user into the vehicle, whether a pre-entry action has been performed before the user enters the vehicle and whether the user has entered the vehicle interior thereafter;
The second control unit is an air conditioning control device that starts driving the heat dissipation fan when the pre-entry action is determined, and starts driving the compressor when it is determined that a user has entered the vehicle cabin .

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